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| View of all 3 of Sipi Falls |
We have enjoyed traveling around by the Posta Bus, so hoped there was one leaving from Jinja in the morning. As luck would have it, there was, but this time we boarded and it was quite full, so the only free seats were at the back. Well, this turned out to be a problem since the road was so atrociously bumpy up to Mbale, that we constantly would bounce out of our seats, and then come down for a crash landing on the less than soft remainder of a cushion! It was a difficult ride for sure, and we were happy to disembark in Mbale where we quickly found a share taxi for the rest of the journey up to Sipi Falls in the foothills of the extinct volcano Mount Elgon, a massif that spans across the border to Kenya and to a lofty height of 4321m - making it the second highest in Uganda, and the 8th highest in Africa. Apparently, the surface area of the extinct volcano is actually one of the largest expanses in the world.
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| Upper Sipi Falls |
On the taxi, I shared the front seat (or he sat straddling the gear shift), with a guy named Robert, who actually worked at our intended destination - the Crow's Nest. He does climbing and abseiling (rappelling) down the 100m Sipi Falls. He had been trained by some Italians, and I would trust him fully, but my fear of heights would surely kick in, and cause me some angst. Would be a stunning descent though.
The view from the community run Crow's Nest was wonderful. You actually could see up to all three sets of cascades or falls that are called Sipi Falls. I think the upper 2 sets of falls were in the 60 - 70m range, and the very picturesque bottom falls is 95m. Also, the views down to the flat lands below seem endless. A pretty great location indeed, even with all the rain.
For dinner, we had some visitors in the name of a handful of friendly dogs that seem to be either
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| Standing on top of the Middle Falls |
owned by the Crow's Nest, or just like to hang out there. I miss having the company of friendly dogs!!
We arranged with a guide, who was a veteran of 14 years, to take us on the obligatory walk to all three falls. Backson was a kind, and friendly guide, who walked us up through all the little paths around the area, past local houses and through local villages. A good blast from the upper falls provided me with a much needed shower, but the river quickly disappeared underground, only to appear further downstream before the second cascade. You could stand in the river at the top of the second falls, overlooking the drop below. You could also go behind this set of falls, and see a local cave slowly being dug for the salty soils, which locals feed to the cattle.
Of course, the highlight was a close-up view of the big falls. A beautiful twin falls, over orange
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| The Lower and Most Impressive Falls |
coloured cliff, with a cave created from erosion at the bottom. The local farms and shacks create a nice colour differential, compared to the cliff below. We stopped at the perfectly located Lacam Lodge for a pack lunch with a view over the falls. Apparently, the Lacam Lodge almost burned to the ground recently, when a fire swept up the trees from below. The neighbouring lodge was completely lost.
We did not attempt to hike down to the base, as the paths had been exceptionally slippery all day, as the recent rains have made everything so muddy! We were lucky to get around where we did.
We had planned to spend a second night at Crow's Nest, but Robert had informed us of a bus leaving in the afternoon, travelling all night all the way to Nairobi. What a score, since we had planned to get there as soon as possible. So, we quickly packed up and rushed down to Mbale, only to find out that there were no seats left on the bus!! Everyone had told us that we should have no problem getting seats, although, now we DID have a problem…. where would we get to tonight???? We started heading to the border as soon as possible, and figured we would just get across into Kenya, and probably stay there for the night. Our days are numbered now though, so we didn't want to waste a day. Stay tuned for the continuation of this journey. *Stub
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| Backson and Michelle enjoying lunch at Sipi Falls |
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